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Video Speech Analysis: Inside the Mind of A Master Procrastinator (TED 2016)

Name

Institution
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Video Speech Analysis: Inside the Mind of A Master Procrastinator (TED 2016)

Content

Inside the mind of a master procrastinator is a TED talk given by Tim Urban in 2016. In

this TED talk, he addressed the issue of procrastination. Urban talked about procrastination

because it is a problem he has suffered from himself. He begins the talk by highlighting his own

experience with procrastination and how it affected him. For example, he talks about how he

delayed writing a thesis until it was 72 hours to deadline and he wrote a bad paper.

Organization

Urban gives his talk in a hilarious yet insightful manner. He uses humour throughout the

speech and even at the end of the talk he humorously implies that it is likely that he would still

procrastinate on issues. He organized his talk well, where it begins from his personal experience

and progresses to reasons why he thinks people procrastinate. In the end, he reveals that actually,

there are no non-procrastinators. That everyone suffers from the problem of procrastination

which affects their level of achievement.

Use of appeals

Urban uses appeals in his speech, with particular focus on logos, the appeal of logic. He

logically explains the way the mind of a master procrastinator works. He talks of three parts of

the mind of the procrastinator which are the rational decision maker, the instant gratification

monkey, and the panic monster. He indicates when an individual is faced with a task they are

supposed to accomplish, the rational decision maker in the brain would want the task to be

commenced on as soon as possible so that it can be done well and within the set deadline.
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However, the instant gratification monkey would want to do something else that brings about

instant gratification such as watching videos. This makes one to delay doing the task until when

the deadline draws near then the panic monster sets in. The panic monster allows one to do the

task in the short time available.

However, Urban does not use logos only. He also uses pathos. He, for example,

sympathizes and empathizes with people who suffer from procrastination by revealing that he

also suffers from the same problem and even stating that everyone is a procrastinator. He also

makes fun of the situation that is likely to lower the level of anxiety of procrastinators. Lastly, he

offers a solution to the problem and implies that this does not mean that this problem will go

away and that relapses are likely to be possible in future.

Delivery

The delivery of the speech is good. Urban explains his points well. He masterfully uses

humour to deliver his points which makes it fun and the audience glued. He uses visual aids to

highlight the mind of a procrastinator and what happens that makes people to procrastinate.

Overall effectiveness of the speech

The speech given by Urban is very effective in highlighting the problem of

procrastination. Urban uses simple language to explain the process of procrastination that allows

anyone listening to the speech to understand exactly what goes on in the mind of a

procrastinator. By highlighting his own struggle with procrastination, he connects with victims of

the problem and allows one to feel that they are not alone. Lastly, he makes fun of the whole

situation which may reduce the level of anxiety among those suffer from the problem.
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Conclusion

Essentially, Inside the mind of a master procrastinator is a TED talk given by Tim Urban

where he talks about procrastination from his own experience. Urban masterfully delivers this

talk, allowing everyone listening to him to understand the problem of procrastination and how to

deal with it.

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Reference

TED (2016, April 6). Inside the mind of a master procrastinator | Tim Urban [video]. YouTube.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=arj7oStGLkU&t=307s